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UNITED STATES Patented February 9, 1904.

JOSIAH WV. MELV IN, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

GAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 751,866, dated February9, 1904.

Application led December l, 1903. Serial No. 183,366. (No model.)

To all whom, t nfl/ay concern:

Be it known that I, JosIAH vW. MELvIN, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Gages, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to gages.

The device is in the nature of a compound implement, it involving' athickness-gage and also a square. It is effective in its several uses,simple of construction, and easy of manipulation.

The invention is clearly shown in one convenient embodiment thereof inthe accompanying drawings, constituting a part of this specification,and in whichw l Figure 1 is a plan view of a gage embodying theimprovements and showing the manner of using the same. Figs. 2 and 3 arerespectively front and side elevations of the same. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal sectional elevation, Fig. 5 is a detail view of a series ofthickness-plates used in connection with the thickness-gage. Fig. 6 is adetail elevation showing a slightly-modified form of block.

Like characters refer to like parts in the several figures.

The gage includes in its organization two blades, as 2 and 3,respectively, the blade 2, which may be the main one, consisting in thepresent instance of a twelve-inch rule, while the blade 3, whichconstitutes the auxiliary one, consists of a six-inch rule, the twoparts being situated in practice at right angles to each other and beingslidingly and adjustably connected to a gage-block, as will hereinafterappear, the three parts constituting collectively a square which may beused either as a T-square or try-square, and can be efficiently employedin places where squares of the ordinary kind cannot be used.

The two blades or rules 2 and 3 are adjustably connected by a blockdesignated in a general way by 4 and including a base-piece 5 and anupper piece 6. The two parts 5 and 6 are shown as separated a distancesuiiicient to freely receive the rule 2 by a liner 7. The

said base-piece, upper piece, and liner maybe riveted or in some casesthe three parts may be integral.

The cross or auxiliary blade 3 is supported upon the main blade or rule2, the two parts being maintained at right angles by an angular plate 8,the horizontal portion of which has a depending lip or bead 9, fitted ina longitudinal groove in the cross-blade 3. The vertical portion of theangular plate receives a set-screw 10, which is tapped into one of theouter faces of the upper portion of the block 4, so as to secure saidplate in place. The lip 9 of said plate frictionally engages the innerwall of the groove or channel in the cross blade 3, whereby the lattercan be readily adjusted transversely of the main blade 2. It will beseen on reference to Fig. 2 that the lower portion of the clamp-plate 8does not abut against the block 4, but is separated therefrom by anangular space, so as to assure the requisite frictional engagementbetween the plate 8 and blade 3, which frictional engagement may bequickly regulated by the screw 10.

A binding-screw 11 is tapped into the upper side of the block 4, itslower end being adapted to engage the upper face of the main blade 2 inorder to hold the block 4 in the desired position with respect to therule or blade 2; By loosening the binding-screw 11 the said block may befreely slid along the rule 2, and when in the requisite position saidscrew 11 will be tightened up. The binding-screw 11 below the headthereof has a tapered shoulder 12, which projects above the upper faceof the block 4, so that in case the implement should fall upon theground the shock will be received by the thickened shoulder 12, so asnot to bend the screw 11.

The block 4 has a transverse slot 13 to receive a thickness-plate, whichslot, it will be observed, extends through the upper portion 6 of theblock and also through an upturned flange 14 at the forward side of thebase piece or plate 5, which base-piece, it will be perceived, is widerthan the upper portion 6 of the block. The upper surface of the iiange14 is in a plane above the corresponding sur-V face of the main blade 2and is intended to receive the legs Vof calipers'employed in one use ofthe implement. In other words, said caliper-legs are held above thesurface of the blade 2, so that they cannot get under a thickness-platebottomed in the transverse slot 13.

A thickness-plate is adapted to be bottomed in the slot 13 and to bepressed against one wall of said slot-in the present case the wall atthe leftby a spring-actuated pin, as 15, inclosed in a suitable bore inthe upper portion 6 of the block. The actuating-spring for the pin isdenoted by 16, and it surrounds the same, bears against a shoulder atthe forwardv end of the pin to normally maintain the latter 'in itsworking position, and bears at its rear end against the screw 17,closing the rear of the bore in which said spring-actuated pin issituated. Ihen a thickness-plate is introduced into the slot Y13, saidplate will engage the free end of the pin 15 and force the pin to oneside, so that the plate can be bottomed in the slot. When the plate isbottomed, the spring 16 effectually presses the thicknessplate againstthe non-bored wall of the slot.

In practice the thickness-plates, as 18, are connected in groups-say byapivot 19-and in this way the plates are readily kept assembled, so thatany one of them can be easily reached at any time. Each plate hasprominently on one face markings indicating its use and its thickness.

The device hereinbefore described can be employed in many differentways, several of which I have speci'ed. I will describe now more atlength the manner of using the device when applying a wheel to its axle.In this case a thickness-plate 18 of the requisite thickness isinitially inserted into the slot 13, in which position it is securelyheld by the spring-actuated pin 15. The user then takes a pair of insidecalipers, as 20, and with them measures accurately the inside diameterof an aXle-hole. One leg of said inside caliperssay the leg to theright-is then placed against what is shown in Fig. 1 as the inside faceof the thickness-plate 18, said right leg abutting against the upperportion of the block 4. What is shown as the left leg of the insidecalipers will be sustained upon the upper surface of the main blade ortwelve-inch rule 2. A pair of outside calipers, as 21, is then broughtinto requisition, and the right leg thereof is placed against the outerface of the thicknessplate 18, while the leftl leg is vibrated up anddown until its terminal portion engages the corresponding portion of theleft leg of the inside calipers. It will be understood that a leg ,ofeach calipers abuts against opposite faces of the thickness-plate, thelatter determining the excess of diameter of the aXle with respect.

to its hole in accordance with the particular iit to be made, whetherthe lit be a force, drive, running, or other fit. After the adjustmentof the outside calipers they maybe used for measuring the diameter ofthe axle, shaft, arbor, or other part tobe tted into the hole of awheel, disk, or equivalent. I have shown in-Fig. 5 a number of thethickness-platesrassembled together. They may be made of any desirablethicknesses, running from four-thousandths up to twenty-five-thousandthsof an inch. In practice I intend to furnish with the tool a table givingthe number of thousandths to use in making a particular fit.

By virtue of my improvements I am enabled to rapidly and accuratelysecure the diameters of axles, shafts, or the like to be fitted to theirwheels, and in a very much more expeditious manner than is possible withcertain Jexisting methods.

The two rules or blades are marked with inch-marks and fractionalsubdivisions, and as each is slidably connected with the block 4 theymay be employed to advantage in making various kinds of measurements,and as said rules are removably connected with the block they may bedetached therefrom and used independently of each other. Y

It will be remembered that I have heretofore described the block 4 asconsisting of three pieces and have suggested as a modiication that theblock can be made integral. In Fig. 6 I show a further modication,wherein the block is made of two parts, it consisting of a base-piece 5and an upper section 6', chamfered or grooved on their adjacent faces topresent upright and depending flanges, respectively, so that when thetwo parts are connected together there will be between them a slot toslidingly receive the main blade.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a device of the class described, a block, and a pair of bladesadjustably and slidably connected with the block and located at rightangles to each other, the block having a thickness-plate-receiving slot,and means for pressing the thickness-plate against one of the walls ofthe slot.

. 2. In a device of the class described, a blade, a block slidinglyconnected with the blade, having a slot to receive a thickness-plate,and means for pressing said thickness-plate against one of the walls ofthe slot, a binding-screw tapped into the block and arranged to engagesaid blade, a second blade extending across the rst blade and having agroove in its upper side, and an angular plate connected by a screw withthe block and having a lip to enter the groove of the second blade.

3. In a device of the class described, a block having a slot to receivea thicknesseplate, and means for forcing said thickness-plate againstIOO A IIO one of the Walls of the slot, a rule slidably oonneeted withthe block, a binding-screw tapped into the block to engage the rule andhaving and a sereW passing through the Vertical portion of the plate andtapped into the block.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my an enlarged shoulder belowits head, a second hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses. rulesupported against the other rule and having a longitudinal groove, anangular plate, the horizontal portion of which is provided With adepending lip fitted into said groove,

JOSIAH W. MELVIN. WVitnesses:

J. B. DnMoss, J. G. RICE.

